Motor vehicle



1,449,812 G. F, ECKART MOTOR VEHICLE Filed June 5, 1920 4 sheets-sheet 1 Mar. .27, 1923.

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G. F. ECKART MOTOR VEHICLE Mar. 27, 1923.

4 sheets-sheet 2 Filed June 5, 1920 Mar. 27, 1923; 1,449,812

G. F. ECKART MOTOR VEHICLE Filed June 5, 1920 4 sheets-sheet 4 'lm 1.1w ///////4 g Patented Mar. 27, 1923.

UNITED STATES GEORGE F. ECKART, or cincrnnn'rr, OHIO.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

Application filed. June'5, 1920. Serial No. 386,688.

'10 all to homit may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE F. EOKART, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Motor Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the driving mechanism and particularly to that portion of the driving mechanism of a motor vehicle which lies to the rear of the construction and embodies the rear axle, differential, and drive wheel elements.

The construction to be hereinafter set forth is particularly designed for automobile trucks of great capacity and is intended to provide means whereby the capacity of trucks may be very materially increased over any heretofore so that heavier loads may be carried.

A further object is to produce a construction which permits the use of four drive wheels, thereby reducing the wear on the tires and at the same time permitting of the 26 use of four drive wheels at the point where the greatest tractive effort is afforded by the weight of the load carried by the truck.

An additional object is to produce a four Wheel drive which is driven by a single drive shaft, but which provides means whereby the parts may adjust themselves to the varying inequalities of the surface over which the truck moves.

Four wheel drive trucks are generally understood to be driven by two rear road wheels and two front road wheels, the front wheels usually also operating as the steering wheels of the vehicle, such a four wheel drive necessitating the use of flexible or universal joints and gear connections with two drive shafts. In my improved construction the use of flexible or universal oints, double drive shafts and gear connections is largely eliminated and it will be seen that in general the conditions are not changed over a two wheel drive.

A further departure from usual construction is to be found in the use of two rear axles which are connected in a flexible man- 65 attained in the truck construction described ner with the mounting or vehicle springs in the following specification and illustrated Fig. 5 is a plan view of the flexible drive joint shown in Fig. 4;

Fig, 6 is a plan view of the helical springs in the joint shown in Fig. 4; and v Fig. 7 is a fragmental sectional view of a detail of the oint shown in Fig. 4 and taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 5.

In my improved motor vehicle construction the chassis 9 is of usual construction, being designed to support the increased load which my truck is capable of carrying. This chassis is provided on each side with brackets 10 and 11 which extend downwardly and support the lower ends of pins 12 and 13, the upper ends of which are located in outwardly projecting brackets 14 and 15 which are secured to the chassis adjacent to the brackets 10 and 11. Upon brackets 16 and 17 which are attached to the chassis frame, are swinging links 18 and 19 which are connected with the ends of the vehicle springs 20. These springs are connected by means of spring clips 21 and 22 to blocks 23 which act as connecting links between journal box bearings 24 and 25 which in turn act as intermediate connecting links between the central connecting link 23 and forked links 26 and 27. The pivotal connection of links 23, 24 and-25 with each other is at points 28 and 29 in such a manner as to permit the swinging thereof. in vertical planes. the pivotal connections of links 24 and 26, 25 and 27 with each other being at points 30, 31 and 82, 33 upon vertical pins 34 and 35 so that movement of these links in horizontal planes with relation to one another is afforded. Links 26 and 27 are connected with pins 12 and 13 by being provided with forwardly and rearwardly extending ends 36 and 37 which are provided with spherical sockets 38 and 39 1 adapted to engage balls and {i1 upon the respective pins 12 and 13. Journhl box bearings 24 and 25 carry the axles and 43 upon which the road wheels 44" and 45 are mounted, gear casings 46 and 47, the contents of which will now be described, being provided in suitable position for the enclosed mechanism to drive the road wheels. ,i l he driving mechanism within the gear casings and the fie; ble coupling between them is showi'i in l? 3; Inasmuch aseach casing contains the same mechanism, but one mechanism-1 will be described, the same reference numerals referring to ilikep-arts in each. Passing into casing 46 is the drive shaft 4:8 which 18 mounted therein in bearings 49, 50, 51 52 and 53 and which carries a worm 54c between thebearings and 51 inpo'sition 20 to mesh with and drive worm gear 55 on axle 42. At the b'ottom of the casing on the opposite side of the worm gear 55 afshaft 56 is located, this shaft being journalled in bearings 57, 58,59, 60 and 61, and carrying a worm 62 which also meshes with worm gear 55. Motion iscomrnunicat'ed'to shaft 56 fromidriv e shaft 48 through a series of spur gears 63, 64, and 66, gears 63- and 66 being located between bearings 52 and 53,

and 61, while ears 64 and 65 are mounted on short shafts 6"? and 68 j'ournal'led in bearin .s 69 and 70, 71 and 72 of the casing. git rig it angles to the Worms 54 and 62 are locatedlthe worms 73 and 74 which are mounted upon the respective shafts '75 and and-are ournalist is bearings vii" ai1d'7'8, 49 and 80. These worms 73 and 7 1' are driven for operation with worm gear 55 by a Series o f pa irsb f n itre 81 and 82, 83 end 84,85 and 86,, s7 and .88. 1

The flexible coupling which connects the twocasings is fully shown in Figs. 4 to 7 inclusive an d although the subject of Patent No.v 1,337,646, granted to me upon April 20; 1920, I will describe the construction thereof in brief as routes, The drive shaft 4 8 terminates in a; disc 89 which in cooperati'o'n with a plain disc 90 forms sockets for the balls 91. slidably mounted on the he, ends 921 of a series of bolts 93 to permit movement or the bolts in the sockets. The opposite end of the eoil usg is similarly constructed, havinga disc 96% which in: co operation with a disc attached to drive shaft eitension 4}? acts to Torin a: series of spherical'soc kets 'for tlierccepti'on of ajseries t'l'jalls 96 on themit ends of bolts 93. To hold discs 69 and 90 as well as discs 94 and to er and in properly adjusted relation 11 each the'r I have previ'dd a at short iioiis-et incited between ad acent ones of the set of bolts 93., Between the discs 90 and '94 I have fp'rm'i-zled an external 0" 1 spring '98 and an internal coil 99 hav ii'i'g ends 100 and 101 which enter the discs 90 and '94-. These springs serve to maintain a certain element of solidity to the coupling while at the same time permitting it tobe flexed in torsion cross-wise. Nuts and lock nuts 162 areprovided on the threaded ends of the bolts for tensioning the coupling and its springs to the proper extent.

The action to be had in driving the mechanism above described is to divide up the wear on the various parts and to permit of better lubrication while at the same time distril'iiiting the application of power at points around a whole cle thereby eliminating leve rage'or so called thrust. This resultsin elin iinati-nf excessive friction and in keepthe oil co'ol which results in perfect lu') on It .i be seen that the power is partly transmitted through ni'i'tre ars and that the other portion of the power transiiiitt'ec'l through spur gears, W'eii'ring of the \voi 'i i and permits of bet er lnbr vration between the pans, thus in turn relieving the excessive wk r on the Ti-a'rts.

The 'i'n'a n'ii'er in which the; wheel axles are mounted with relation to the 'c'l'ias s is also believed to be new mas-unite as th horizontaliy and vertically inovable joint coinbi'nation" togo'ther with the ball aiidfsorhe't 'cone mountin An tar- 511t it ne d in IrIy construction isthe location of the vehicie p'rins 20 with relation to the axles -since t ev ted on ai 'cl connected to the connecting liirk 23 which connects the rear "axle jO l' l 1) lies 24 and 25, therebvgiving a drflercnt r'e ctlon or r'ecoil of the transnn'ss'ion thanin present? 'const'ructikm in which the recoil. is

'd'irectliy at 'tlie point of; coni'iectio-n er the axle with the sprin' Having thus described nr'v invention, 1 *claiin is: i

The (:fonrbin:ftion in a niotc'ir vet lie of a chassis, axle 'l'iousings mounted thereon, an axle in each huiisir'n wheels on site i. axl a; worm drive mechanism mounted in e? ofsaidlfdusings, a shloclc ab thing and ruin versally acting spring coup g between and connecting said worm drive mechanisms, and a" pair of aiiy j ielding spring mount irigs connect i the front and rear axle an ings, uleiman-Ty as set for-n1 and imthepurposesspecified. H

' enonen EGKART.

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